


drawn to the flame

by freckledrob



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: M/M, Monster Hunting AU, Slow Burn, but i think that's fun of me, honestly some of the lore in this is my own creation, i am not immune, i had this idea and then was encouraged to write it so here we are, just robron and co fighting monsters and vibing in dingy motels and diners, kinda angsty at times bc they have History
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:08:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29815098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freckledrob/pseuds/freckledrob
Summary: “Sorry, I-” he stops.As soon as Robert sees his face he’s taken back to heavy nights, filled with nursing wounds and cheap whisky and hands covering every inch of skin available.“Aaron?” Robert looks around as if on instinct. As if this is some kind of joke thought of by someone more powerful than him.-Robert Sugden and Aaron Dingle hunt monsters for a living. Separately. Their paths have crossed before, only to end up burning them both at their core. It was too much then. It might be too much now. But they're working together to hunt god-knows-what, so they might as well get used to being at each other's sides.
Relationships: Aaron Dingle/Robert Sugden, Adam Barton/Victoria Sugden, Liv Flaherty/Gabby Thomas
Comments: 26
Kudos: 90





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> title from "nocturnal creatures" by bastille
> 
> this is a new fic i'm working on, set in an alternate universe where supernatural creatures run rampant and it's up to our beloved emmerdale characters to... "take care" of them.

**_ROBERT_ **

Another night. Another shite motel. Another monster quite literally lurking in the shadows. Victoria had decided it could be a demon case and really, who are they to turn down the chance to kill a demon? Sure, demons are trickier and all around tend to be towards the top of the danger scale, but Robert doesn’t shy down from a fight. Especially not one with a demon. And he and Vic can take it on all on their own, he has faith in them. Even if his sister does constantly suggest that it wouldn’t hurt to expand their little party of two. Robert doesn’t see the point. It didn’t work out when it was them and Dad and Andy (for multiple reasons), so why would it work now?

“I’m gonna go get some air,” he gestures to the door. Victoria just nods, not looking up from her computer. She’s no doubt trying to find out what locals have been saying about the thing that’s been going bump in the night.

Robert leans up against the second story railing, staring across the car park into the night sky. It’s a bit brisk, but it’s England in June so he wasn’t holding out his hopes for a late night heatwave. 

* * *

Deciding he's been gone long enough, Robert breathes out a long sigh before turning to head back, only to crash right into someone in the process.

“Sorry, I-” he stops. 

As soon as Robert sees his face he’s taken back to heavy nights, filled with nursing wounds and cheap whisky and hands covering every inch of skin available.

“ _Aaron?_ ” Robert looks around as if on instinct. As if this is some kind of joke thought of by someone more powerful than him.

Aaron Livesy stands in front of him, arms crossed and looking like he wants to be anywhere else. Though from what Robert can remember, that’s basically his default position. 

“What’re you doing here, Robert?” Aaron’s voice is gruff, agitated. As if Robert has somehow purposely inconvenienced him.

“Working a case… What are _you_ doing here?” 

Aaron clenches his jaw, “Same thing as you.”

Wait.

“Possible demon activity?”

Aaron nods and realisation sets in for both of them.

They’re working the same case.

“No.”

Robert scoffs, “Pardon?”

“No way are you stealing our case.” Aaron’s beard has grown out more in the few years since Robert has seen him. It was barely more than stubble back then. 

“I’m not stealing anything! I didn’t even know you were here! Let alone tracking the same demon!”

A door opens and they stop, but only Robert relaxes when he sees who it is.

“Rob?” Victoria squints. “Who’re you shouting at? It’s nearly eleven, idiot.”

Just then another figure appears, walking up and clasping a hand on Aaron’s shoulder.

“Aaron, mate, what’s up?”

Aaron rolls his eyes. “Nothing... Robert and I worked a few cases a while back when I was on me own. Now he’s trying to beat us to this demon.”

“I _told_ ya, I’m not-”

“Youse are hunting the demon too?” Victoria looks between Adam and Aaron, “Or, potential demon, I suppose.”

Adam nods, unable to take his eyes off of her. A pink flush hits high on her cheeks. Robert rolls his eyes. Doesn’t see Aaron do the same.

“Adam Barton,” he holds out his hand. 

Vic grins, taking it. “Victoria Sugden. Robert’s my brother.”

“Aaron’s my best mate.”

They release their hands and Victoria turns to Robert. “You’ve never mentioned an Aaron before.”

“ _Shocker,_ ” Aaron murmurs, but Robert isn’t sure that anyone but him can hear it. 

“Yeah it was a few years back. Aaron Livesy.”

Aaron clears his throat, something else flashing across his face. “It’s actually Dingle now. I took on me mum’s name.”

Robert furrows his brows but doesn’t push on the subject, just continues. 

“Anyways Vic, you didn’t exactly need to know. What’s in the past and all that.”

Victoria doesn’t look completely satisfied with his answer (neither does Aaron for that matter), but she seems to be willing to let it rest for the time being. Plus, there’s a look in her eyes that tells him she has another idea.

“We should just work together!”

Robert groans, “Vic…”

“Sounds good to me,” Adam gives her a flirty grin and Robert doesn’t care that they’ve only known each other for about five minutes, he could really kill Adam Barton.

“Oi, don’t be making decisions without me!” Aaron nudges Adam in the ribs. Hard by the looks of it, and judging by the pained sound that Adam lets out. 

Victoria looks up at Robert, “I’m always saying that we-”

“I know what you’re always saying, but that doesn’t mean it’s true. We do just fine on our own.”

“So do we,” Aaron reminds Adam.

It isn’t that Aaron’s terrible to work with. He’s great, actually. Probably better than Robert. But if they work together again, a lot of old issues are going to be brought back up. Issues like feelings…

“No, come _on_ . Four people is _way_ better than two, boys!” Adam slings his arms around Robert and Aaron’s shoulders. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad…

Robert shrugs Adam’s arm off. “Only if you promise to not do that again.”

Aaron looks incredulous. “ _Seriously?_ ”

“Your mate’s gotta point, plus I don’t think either of us are willing to give this case up so it’s gotta be better than us butting heads at every turn, right?”

The younger man bites the inside of his lip, resigning to the idea. 

“Well that’s sorted then,” Vic tugs on the sleeves of her jacket. “We’ll meet tomorrow morning. There’s a diner just down the road. See everyone there.”

The men all nod. Aaron and Adam head back to their room, Robert and Victoria head into theirs.

Robert spends most of the night lying awake, staring at the ceiling, and wondering how the hell he’s going to handle working an entire case with Aaron Livesy-turned-Dingle. 

Aaron Dingle, who is still as fit, if not more so, as he remembers.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the teamwork begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to everyone who left kudos/comments on the first chapter!! it means a lot!! i hope you'll enjoy this one as well. - eb

**_AARON_ **

When they meet at the diner the next morning, they sit in a booth in the corner. Although to be completely honest, they really don’t need to be so secluded. The diner is dead anyway. The paint is peeling from the walls and the staff look like they have all been working here for the past thirty years. There isn’t much sound other than the faint 80s music playing from an old speaker and the hushed tones of the few people that are in the room.

Aaron drinks his coffee, listening to Victoria lay out hers and Robert’s findings on their possible demon. He won’t say it out loud, but he is pretty sure they have a great deal more information than he and Adam. Maybe this partnership is valuable after all. Even if he does have to work with Robert Sugden again. 

Robert, who keeps glancing across the table at Aaron and then looking away as if he hurts to look at. 

Maybe he’s just worried that Aaron will say something to Victoria about their “relationship” two years prior. Maybe he’s worried that Aaron will try to start things back up between them. Maybe it isn’t anything Aaron needs to worry about and it's all in his head.

_God._ He should be focusing on finding and killing this demon. Not wasting all his thoughts on Robert Sugden and his stupid hair and smug face.

“I think we’ve got this down between the four of us,” Adam’s voice breaks through his Robert-induced thoughts.

“Agreed,” Victoria grins, “You seem very… experienced.”  
  


Aaron rolls his eyes at the same time as Robert lets out a quiet groan. There isn’t a single doubt in their minds that Adam and Victoria flirting is just going to be something that they will have to put up with for the foreseeable future.

“Right,” Adam clears his throat, skin a significantly more flushed tone. “We should go to the most recent crime scene. See what we can find, eh?”

Aaron nods. Anything to get them away from this too-quiet diner and out there doing something, anything that doesn’t involve Robert being able to bore into Aaron’s skin with his stare.

* * *

They get onto the scene easily enough. Robert is exceptional at using his charm and wit to lie their way beyond the caution tape. The officers on the scene just think the four of them are from another unit. Idiots.

The whole thing is admittedly gruesome to look at. The bodies have already been taken to the morgue (Robert and Victoria will go down there later), but the clean-up crew hasn’t even begun to touch anything else. Rust coloured stains coat the pavement, bits of flesh and clothes littered around. It would feel like walking into a nightmare, Robert imagines, if this wasn’t something that they had become accustomed to over the years. He knows that he and Victoria have seen their fair share of bloodied, unnerving scenes since they started hunting, and judging by the way Aaron and Adam don’t recoil or empty their stomachs at what is laid out in front of them, so have they.

“Hey,” Victoria calls over from where she’s crouched down near a shrub. She lowers her voice, “What does this look like to you?”

She swipes her finger along a leaf and holds it up. Robert and Aaron answer at the same time.

“Sulfur.”

Robert looks unphased but for the slight twitch of his lip. “Right… Well I guess we’ll learn more when we go to the morgue.”

“About that,” Vic starts slowly, “I was actually hoping you and Aaron could do that. I want to do some research to see what I can find about similar instances. And I think Adam could be a big help for me.”

Aaron hasn’t known Victoria long, but he’s pretty sure there’s only some truth to what she said. Of the two of them, Aaron is better at research and they both know it. 

He thinks Victoria knows that much as well. 

* * *

The ride to the morgue is… awkward to say the least. Aaron busies himself by studying all the little details of Robert’s car. It’s a different one than the car he had when they had first met. Newer. Maybe Robert was newer too. He seemed to take better care of himself now. Not that he was in terrible shape to begin with. Robert was fit back then and he’s fit now but…

“We’re here.” Robert turns off the engine, opening his door and successfully tearing Aaron’s thoughts away from memories of certain activities years ago.

Aaron blinks as if he’s startled but quickly regains his usual sullen composure and pretends to look unbothered. Robert leads them in through the mortuary doors like he owns the place. Aaron shuffles his feet behind him, trying his best to match Robert’s aura of intense professionalism. 

“Detective Connolly,” Robert introduces himself to the coroner, “And this is my partner, Det-”

“Detective Clyde,” Aaron gives a brief nod. 

She seems easily fooled by their aliases, leading them to the violently disturbed bodies. 

“Did you find any sulfur, by chance?” Robert asks her.

“I did, actually,” she gestures to one victim, “This one had it on his hands, under his nails. But this guy-”

She points to the other body. “He had it in his mouth. Practically coated his tongue, throat, everything.”

Robert and Aaron look at each other. Things are definitely adding up.

They listen to the coroner as she explains all other injuries and possible causes of death. Big dark bruises. Shattered leg bones. Deep scrapes. Snapped neck. The list goes on.

* * *

Adam lays across one bed, Victoria sat at his side. They’re going through news articles Victoria found of similar instances in surrounding areas. Robert sits on the other bed, nose in some book about demonic lore. He is as into the history of monsters as he is hunting them, Aaron has discovered. Aaron sits on the floor, back starting to ache from hunching over all of the notes they’ve taken. They need to find out the pattern to find out where this thing will head next. And if it’s definitely a demon that they’re dealing with. 

They also need to take breaks every once in a while. Or, at least Aaron does. Victoria’s handwriting is starting to look alien to him and his muscles feel like cement, weighing him down on the floor.

“I need to go stretch my legs. I’m gonna go have a walk around.”

He hauls himself up and out the door, happy to leave the stiff quietness of the motel room and enter the brisk night air. He doesn’t make it very far before he hears footsteps behind him.

“You alright?” It’s Robert. Naturally.

“M’fine,” Aaron shrugs, glancing at him over his shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Robert smile.

“Never have been much of a talker, have ya?”

He huffs, “When you’ve lived the life I have, you find there’s not much worth talking about.”

Robert nods. “What kind of a life have you lived, Aaron Dingle? Other than one where you change your surname. We never really talked about it, before.”

“Didn’t do much talking at all.” Aaron tries not to think of the feeling of Robert’s mouth on his. He fails.

Even with only the dim light from the motel sign and streetlamp, Aaron can see Robert’s cheeks heat up.

“Suppose we didn’t.”

“You did mention something about trying to get away from family, but I’m guessing you decided against it.”

Robert grins, “Yeah well, Vic isn’t that easy to get rid.”

He makes a knowing face, “And... you missed her.” He’s seen how they are. How Victoria looks up to him, both literally and figuratively. How proud Robert is when she shares her findings. Aaron knows how Robert feels about her because it’s how he feels about his own sister. He says as much. He wasn’t planning to, but he does.

“Didn’t know you had a sister.”

“We, er, reconnected a while back,” Aaron says, feeling himself shut down. “Besides why would you know? Clearly you had no interest in getting to know me.”

“That’s not-”

Aaron clenches his fists. “What? Not true? Because if it wasn’t true then maybe you wouldn’t have just up and left like it- like _I_ was nothing.”

Robert just stands there. Mouth a straight line. Gaze focused on the ground. Aaron rolls his eyes and walks back towards the motel.

“Whatever. Goodnight Robert.”

_Why’d he say that?_ They were starting to maybe have an actual conversation and Aaron had to go and put a stop to it.

_Because it’s for the best. Because Robert won’t care about him again after this case is over._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me @ bictoriasugden on tumblr + @cherubliv on twitter 🌹


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tension and the arrival of one liv flaherty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the age difference between liv and aaron is a bit smaller in this, he's around 25 and she's 17. it's not a massive difference or a huge deal but i just wanted to point that out.

**_ROBERT_ **

In theory, Robert knows that the tension between him and Aaron is mostly, if not all, his fault. Sure, Aaron brought it up, but Robert understands why. Of course he does. But part of him wishes he didn’t, as unlikely as that was to happen. Did Robert want to up and leave Aaron when he did? Yes and no.  _ It was for the best, _ Robert tells himself. Over and over again. It doesn’t get more convincing but it does hold the tides in his mind off a little bit longer. He can’t face what happened with them. What he knows is true. It’s not the right time.

_ It’s never the right time. _

When Adam and Vic tell them they’re leaving to go follow another lead, Robert genuinely dreads the idea. He tells himself it’s because of the growing relationship between his sister and the daft hunter she’s chosen to fancy. 

They end up sharing a room despite the animosity between them. Hostility isn’t worth the cost of two separate motel rooms. Besides, there’s two beds so everything is fine. Or it should be. 

Robert hopes it will be.

* * *

“It could be heading to Skipdale next.”

Aaron’s voice startles Robert. He hadn’t actually spoken directly to him in over forty-eight hours. 

“What?”

The younger man looks over at him. He’s full of surprises today apparently. “The demon. Or whatever it is.”

“Oh. Right.” Robert nods, then processes past the fact that Aaron was just speaking to him. “Wait, what makes you say that?”

“Based on where he’s gone before. If Vic and Adam are right about where they’re headed, then that’s spot number four. This would be spot number five. And if you trace from dot to dot…”

“Pentagram,” Robert finishes. “It’s a fucking pentagram.”

Aaron cracks a hint of a smile. “How cliche is that?”

It makes sense. Too much sense. He should have thought about a pentagram location theory. His mind has been elsewhere. For whatever reason that may be.

“Oh, also… me sister’s gonna join us in a day or two. She’s done with school for the summer and she’s driving my family up the wall so…”

“Does she know what she’s doing?”

Aaron actually laughs a little at that. “More than me sometimes, I think.”

He tells Robert that her name is Liv, she’s seventeen, and she  _ has _ hunted with him and Adam before. She just usually (and begrudgingly) stays with his aunt and uncle during the school year, per Aaron’s request. 

“Why doesn’t she live with your parents? Are they hunters too?”

Aaron tenses and Robert instantly clocks the discomfort.

“You don’t have to tell-”

“Me mum used to hunt but it ended up getting too much for her so now she’s retired and owns a pub. But Liv’s not her daughter. Liv’s mum is my… dad’s second wife and his kid.”

There is something about the way Aaron says ‘dad.’ Like he doesn’t want to call him that but doesn’t know another term to use.

Aaron clears his throat and continues, “Anyways, Sandra’s a nutcase and dad’s dead so… I’m all she’s got.”

“How’d she find you? Or how’d you find her?”

“She was trackin’ our dad down. Sandra called me in a state asking if she was with me. I hadn’t heard from any of them in almost a decade but I knew she’d be in trouble if she went looking for him. Shit got ugly. We managed to get there in time. An’ now she’s with us. Managed to convince us she could hunt after showing us her uh…  _ skills _ with knives. She’s lethal, that one.” 

Aaron chuckles softly at that but there’s still something else behind his eyes. 

_ Pain, _ Robert thinks. He doesn’t ask any more questions. He can tell Aaron doesn’t want to talk about this anymore, so he just leaves it at that.

* * *

The light is streaming in through the diner windows. Probably a good thing, considering the lights in there barely work. Robert taps his fingers on the table, listening to ABBA singing about being young and sweet through tinny speakers. 

He had offered to drive Aaron to go pick up Liv, but Aaron had declined. Robert assumes he just doesn’t want to be in the car with him that long. Aaron had passed it off as saying a few of his cousins were aching to get out of town for a bit and they were more than happy to bring her to them. They’d drop her off with Aaron at the motel and then the two of them would meet Robert at the diner. Why they couldn’t just drop her off at the diner, Robert doesn’t know. 

Once they’ve eaten they’ll go visit the family of one of the victims, but for now he’s just waiting at an empty table, twiddling his thumbs like an idiot because he doesn’t know what else to do.

“You Robert, then?”

He looks up and finds a five foot, unimpressed blonde teenager standing in a dark denim jacket and combat boots. She’s got a cut on her lip and her eyes… he's only seen those eyes one other place.

“So you must be Liv…”

She slides into the booth across from him and smirks. “In the flesh. Barely. Eli can’t drive for shite.”

He laughs, amused already. Liv frowns, clearly mistaking this for him laughing  _ at _ her. “I could kick your arse.”

“No, I don’t doubt that,” he grins, “You seem pretty scrappy. And quite the spit-fire if what I hear from that brother of yours is anything to go by.”

There’s a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“How’d ya get the lip?”

“Some spoiled tart wanted to have a go. I gave her a fair warning,” she shrugs, “She didn’t take it.”

It’s then that Aaron walks through the door, groaning upon seeing them talking.

“Liv, leave ‘im alone.”

“I barely spoke to him!”

Robert settles everything before it turns into a sibling squabble. “Honestly, she’s fine.”

“Maybe it’s not her I’m worried about.”

He scoffs and leans back into the booth, eyes trained on Aaron’s face. When he finally drags his gaze back to Liv, she’s got a look on her face like she knows what that was about. Aaron slides in next to her with a shove, which gets him a shout of protest and punch on his shoulder. 

* * *

After ordering and receiving their food, they chat aimlessly, Robert becoming increasingly intrigued by the Dingle way of life.

“So why’d you have to get dropped off at the motel and not here?”

“Eli an’ Sammy are barred, ‘parently,” Liv manages to get out around a mouthful of waffles and strawberries.

He raises his eyebrows. “From  _ here? _ How?”

“Dunno,” she shrugs, swallowing. “But they’re always doin’ weird, unexplainable stuff so we just take their word for it that it’s… unmentionable.”

“Especially Eli,” Aaron slurps from his mug, looking confused when Robert winces at the sound. “Eli’s always trying to drag ya into something you’ve never even heard of, like werewolf brothels.”

Liv makes a face and Aaron clears his throat.

“Anyways, Adam called before I came in. He and Victoria think they found a clear trail.”

Robert nods. “I don’t doubt that. Vic knows how to track.”

Liv’s interest piques. “How long have you been doing this?”

“Long. Since I was younger than you are now,” he sighs, “Since after our mum died…”

“Oh,” she slumps, looking guilty for bringing it up. “Sorry.”

He shrugs. “Is what it is, I suppose.”

* * *

The victim with the sulfur coated throat lived in a nice little neighbourhood, with pastel gardens and trimmed lawns. They devise a plan before they get there: Robert will be a detective looking for more information, Liv will play the part of a kid new to town, and while they keep everyone distracted, Aaron will check around the house and yard to see if there is anything that could lead them in the right direction. 

Robert pulls the family out of the house to a sunny spot on the front lawn, under the guise of it being such a “lovely summer afternoon.” The victim’s wife and oldest daughter tearfully repeat the same story they’ve heard over and over again, from the police, the press, townspeople. It’s all the same “he was a good guy, never got in with the bad crowd” bullshit. 

Liv rolls past on a skateboard and Robert’s phone dings. He apologises to the widower and looks at the notification.

_ done. meet @ car - a _

* * *

“So?”

Liv scoffs, slipping into the backseat. “Wait for me to settle, would ya? I need to catch my breath, those guys have a lot of adrenaline.”

Aaron speaks instead. “Found bank statements. They were in a bit of debt it seems.”

He shakes his head, correcting himself. “Actually. A lot of debt. It was piling up in his office.”

“Yeah, the kids said he and the missus had been fighting loads in the weeks leading up to his untimely departure. Usually about money and stuff like that.”

“Sounds like he needed a fix, and fast,” Robert starts the car, “Deal at the crossroads, perhaps? Or maybe he just knew who, or what, to call.”

Liv leans forward, arms resting on his and Aaron’s seats, “So this is definitely a demon, right?”

Robert nods. “A powerful one. If the one bloke’s throat was anything to go by, I think he swapped bodies for a bit and then swapped back to his primary vessel. That isn’t something a minor demon can do.”

“We should go talk to Ashley then.”

He turns around, “Ashley Thomas? You know him?”

The Sugdens had worked with the full-time-vicar, part-time-exorcist once or twice before, but soon Jack had found someone else and that was that.

Aaron sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “She’s datin’ his daughter. Y’know Liv, just say ya wanna see your girlfriend.”

“ _ Fine. _ I wanna see my girlfriend,” she lifts her head up, “But also, Ashley’s kind of good at the whole dealing with demons thing, so…”

“Yeah, yeah, alright. We’ll all go tomorrow when Adam and Victoria get back.”

Liv leans back in her seat, a satisfied smirk set on her face.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i promise there's more robron coming up, but i hope you enjoyed this chapter! liv is one of my absolute faves so i needed to get her in here lol

**Author's Note:**

> find me @ bictoriasugden on tumblr + @cherubliv on twitter 🌹


End file.
